There are a ton of frog and toad sounds to hear in Texas — 44, to be exact. These include nine true frog sounds, ten tree frog calls, nine true toad sounds, three spadefoot toad calls, three rain frog noises, three narrow-mouthed frog calls, and a small handful of others.
Frog calls in Texas are most common during the breeding season, when the males call to attract mates.
While you may be familiar with some of these frogs and their sounds – the American Toad or Bullfrog, for example – some may be more difficult to identify. This guide is intended to help you learn their calls.
American bullfrog, one common source of frog sounds in Texas.
For all the examples below, I have included only the males’ mating (or advertisement) calls, as these are by far the most often heard. While frogs make other noises, including alarm, release, and territorial calls, these are often short, tough to identify to species, and not as frequently recorded.
There are ten species of tree frogs (Hylidae family) in Texas. These species share several physical characteristics, including small, narrow bodies and enlarged toe pads to help climb trees or bushes. Many of these species are far more easily seen than heard. Learn more about their various calls below.
Blanchard’s Cricket Frog
Acris blanchardi
Blanchard’s Cricket Frog makes a set of repeated and rapid clicks, which resemble the sound of two small rocks being tapped together.
Canyon Treefrog
Hyla arenicolor
The mating call is a rattling, hollow-sounding trill that lasts about a second and is repeated every few seconds.
American Green Treefrog
Hyla cinerea
The mating call is a short, nasal “honk!” made once or twice per second. This recording of Green Treefrog sounds from the National Park Service shows a faster call compared to the video.
Squirrel Treefrog
Hyla squirrella
Advertisement call is a buzzing “quack” repeated about twice a second. It gets its name from its rain call, which made outside of breeding areas and is raspier — recalling the noises of a gray squirrel.
Eastern Gray Treefrog
Hyla versicolor
The advertisement call of the gray treefrog is a musical trill that lasts about half a second and is repeated every few seconds. While it is similar to the Cope’s Gray Treefrog call, the pulse rate (speed of the call notes) is significantly slower if both frogs are calling in the same temperature.
Spotted Chorus Frog
Pseudacris clarkii
The advertisement call is a fast, raspy trill, which can sound quite similar to Mountain and Brimley’s Chorus Frogs, as well as the Squirrel Treefrog.
Spring Peeper
Pseudacris crucifer
One of the most well known sounds in the Eastern United States, the spring peeper’s mating call is a loud, ongoing “peep” that repeats once a second or slightly faster.
Cajun Chorus Frog
Pseudacris fouquettei
The mating call is a clicking trill that lasts about a second and rises slightly at the end. It sounds very similar to several other chorus frogs, especially the Southern Chorus Frog. Both of these frogs make noise at slower pulse rates than Upland or Boreal Chorus Frogs.
Strecker’s Chrorus Frog
Pseudacris streckeri
The advertisement call is a metallic-sounding “peep”, very similar to the Ornate Chorus Frog. The call is slightly lower in pitch, but can be difficult to differentiate in areas where the species overlap.
Mexican Treefrog
Smilisca baudinii
The Mexican Treefrog makes a honking noise that is sometimes broken up with a short “chuckle”.
Texas True Frog Sounds and Calls
Nine amphibians in Texas are “true frogs“, meaning they are members of the Ranidae family. These are the usually medium to large-sized “typical” frogs.
These amphibians often spend much of their time in or near water, which leads to the other common name for this group: water frogs. Read on to learn about the characteristics of Texas’s true frog sounds and calls.
Crawfish Frog
Lithobates areolatus
The mating call of the Crawfish Frog is a one-second-long, low-pitched, nasal snore.
Rio Grande Leopard Frog
Lithobates berlandieri
The male’s mating call is a loud, rattling snore that lasts about half a second. It is sometimes made in groups of two or three, often followed by soft gurgles. Some calls can sound similar to those of the Southern Leopard Frog.
Plains Leopard Frog
Lithobates blairi
The mating call of the Plains Leopard Frog is made up of between two and four chucking notes, repeated quickly several times. Each set of chucks rises slightly in pitch, and may end with a grunt.
Bullfrog
Lithobates catesbeianus
The bullfrog mating call is a loud, low-pitched “ruuum, ruuum, ruuuum.” They also have a high-pitched alarm call when they suddenly jump into the water if startled.
Green Frog
Lithobates clamitans
The Green Frog makes a sudden, loud “gunk!”. Many liken it to someone plucking a loose banjo string. They usually call in a few times in a row, with volume and pitch decreasing each time.
Pig Frog
Lithobates grylio
The mating call is a low-pitched grunt that sounds a bit like a pig. It is repeated a few times, and sometimes as many as seven or eight times in warmer weather.
Pickerel Frog
Lithobates palustris
Pickerel Frogs make a soft snore that lasts about two seconds, sometimes with a few garbled notes or “gunk!” that sounds similar to the Green Frog. The snore of the Pickerel Frog is much shorter than that of the Northern Leopard Frog.
Northern Leopard Frog
Lithobates pipiens
The Northern Leopard Frog’s mating call is a long snore that lasts at least three seconds, and is often followed with grunts or chuckles. The call usually increases in volume until trailing off at the end.
Southern Leopard Frog
Lithobates sphenocephalus
The Southern Leopard Frog quickly repeats a set of five to ten “chucking” notes, often followed by grunts. These chucks get faster in warmer temperatures.
Toad Calls in Texas
There are nine true toad sounds (Bufonidae family) in Texas. Most of these animals make trills that vary in their length and musicality. Some of these noises are almost musical, while others…..are not. Check out Texas’s toad calls below.
American Toad Calls
Anaxyrus americanus
The mating call is a musical trill that typically lasts between five and thirty seconds. During the breeding season, males’ make sounds that often alternate or overlap, and have slightly different pitches.
Great Plains Toad
Anaxyrus cognatus
The Great Plains Toad makes a loud, long, pulsing, high-pitched trill, has a jack-hammer quality to it. Lasts from five seconds up to a minute.
Green Toad
Anaxyrus debilis
The mating call is a nasal, buzzing trill that lasts between three and ten seconds. Some liken it to an electric buzzer. The Toad usually pauses several seconds between calls.
Fowler’s Toad Sounds
Anaxyrus fowleri
Fowler’s Toads make a buzzy trill that lasts between one and five seconds. Some people liken the sound to that of a crying baby or a woman screaming. Fowler’s Toads sometimes hybridize with American Toads, and calls end up sounding like a mix of the two species.
Houston Toad
Anaxyrus houstonensis
The Houston Toad makes a musical trill that typically lasts between twelve and twenty seconds. It sounds similar to an American Toad, though it is slightly higher in pitch.
Red-spotted Toad
Anaxyrus punctatus
The Red-spotted Toad makes a high-pitched, melodic trill that lasts between three and ten seconds. Similar to the call of the Arizona Toad, but with a higher pitch. Sounds a bit like a cricket.
Texas Toad
Anaxyrus speciosus
The male’s call is a loud, metallic, somewhat unpleasant sound. It lasts only about half a second and and repeats over and over. I think it sounds a bit like a fire alarm.
Woodhouse’s Toad
Anaxyrus woodhousii
The mating call is a nasal buzz-like noise that typically lasts between two and four seconds. Similar sound to Fowler’s Toad, but usually lower in pitch. Also sounds a bit like a person screaming or baby crying.
Cane Toad
Rhinella marina
The advertisement call is a low-pitched trill that lasts between four and six seconds. Larger toads make more resonant and lower-pitched calls.
Other Types of Frog Sounds in Texas
There are several additional families of frog species represented in Texas. These include the spadefoot toads (Scaphiopodidae), rain frogs (Eleutherodactylidae), and narrow-mouthed toads (Microhylidae).
There is also one representative each from the Leptodactylidae family (the Mexican White-lipped Frog), the Pipidae family (the Common Plantanna), and the Rhinophrynidate family (the Mexican Burrowing Toad).
Note: a couple species have not been included in this guide because their sounds are difficult to find, including the Spotted Chirping Frog Mexican White-lipped Frog.
Check out the sounds of these other Texas frogs below.
Common Platanna
Xenopus laevis
The Common Platanna, also called the African Clawed Frog, makes a short two-toned trill that is repeated about a hundred times per minute. Males often call from underwater.
Couch’s Spadefoot
Scaphiopus couchii
The advertisement call of Couch’s Spadefoot sounds similar to the noise of a sheep or goat. It is repeated about once every five seconds, over and over.
Plains Spadefoot
Spea bombifrons
The Plains Spadefoot male makes mating call that sounds like a snore-like growl. Some far southern populations have a shorter call that can sound like the bark of a small dog!
New Mexico Spadefoot
Spea multiplicata
The advertisement call of the New Mexico Spadefoot is a metallic-sounding snore that lasts about a second and repeats every few seconds.
The Mexican Burrowing Toad makes a loud, low-pitched “Whoaaa” sound. It sounds strange, and looks much, much stranger.
Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad
Gastrophryne carolinensis
The Eastern Narrowmouth Toads makes a loud, sometimes startling high-pitched “weeeeee!” It can sound similar to the bleat of a baby animal.
Great Plains Narrow-mouthed Toad
Gastrophryne olivacea
The Great Plains Narrow-mouthed Toad (also called Western Narrow-mouthed Toad) emits a high-pitched nasal buzzing sound, a bit similar to a bee. It usually lasts between one and four seconds.
The sheep frog is in the narrow-mouthed toad family, and it makes a sound like – you guessed it! – a bleating sheep. If you close your eyes, you’ll find it hard to believe you’re hearing a frog.
Rio Grande Chirping Frog
Eleutherodactylus planirostris
The Rio Grande Chirping frog makes – as you might expect – sharp individual chirps or groups of chirps. It also makes slow trills that rise in pitch at the end.
